The changes in ideological identification among party groups has resulted in a rise in the percentage of Americans overall who call themselves liberal and a decrease in the percentage of moderates.

The growth doesn’t automatically mean changes in beliefs, though. Instead, Gallup finds, a growth in social acceptability of liberal principles has more lefties coming out of the Democratic Party’s closet.

Now, the plurality of Democrats consider themselves to be politically liberal, whereas a decade ago, Democrats were most likely to say they were moderate. That could be because Democrats are now more comfortable calling themselves "liberal" -- a term that was less popular in the recent past -- even if their current and past views on issues are similar. But it could also reflect an evolution in their views to favor more traditionally liberal issue positions.

Borrowing from results of another recent Gallup poll, progress in recent implementation of the Affordable Care Act could also be a trigger to this growth in liberal self-identification. Public approval of ACA slowly grew to 45 percent overall last year, shortly after national enrolment began in October.

Also, while a slight majority of the population has regularly disapproved of the program when identified collectively by one name, an overwhelming majority favor individual benefits of the Act, such as lifetime cap removal, tax credits and Medicaid expansion, when identified. As a result, more exposure to and positive experience with ACA could be prodding moderates to the left.

Share this article

Rob Groce is an active Democrat in the Charleston, SC area, has served as county, state and national delegate, and was even a last-minute congressional candidate to represent the progressive side of politics in 2010. Aside from his regular work in marketing research and consultation, Groce spends his time participating in local politics. He can be contacted by email at regroce@sc.rr.com.